‘Whooping’ warning to older adults
Although young babies are most at risk, infectious disease specialists are warning the whooping cough epidemic may hit older adults, who are now being advised to be revaccinated. The ABC reports Professor Peter McIntyre, director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research, as saying whooping cough in adults can be very severe.
Although young babies are most at risk, infectious disease specialists are warning the whooping cough epidemic may hit older adults, who are now being advised to be revaccinated.
The ABC reports Professor Peter McIntyre, director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research, as saying whooping cough in adults can be very severe.
“It would be recommended that rather than getting, say a tetanus booster, if you need a tetanus booster for some reason, you’d be better off having one that also covers whooping cough,” Professor McIntyre says, adding whooping cough is different to many other infectious diseases like measles, because immunity after vaccination wanes.
More than 30,000 cases of whooping cough were reported last year in Australia, more than any other country in the world.
“So, whether you’ve had the whooping cough germ and got the illness or whether you’ve been vaccinated, either way your immunity can fall off over time,” Professor McIntyre claims.
